Overcoming Unbelief

​Mark 9:23 ~ “And Jesus said to him, ‘If you can’! All things are possible for one who believes.’”
 
It is a matter of faith to see the works of God accomplished in and through our lives.
 
And as we consider our text for today, we come to the grand dilemma of wondering if we have, as some have asked, “enough faith.” If, as the LORD has proclaimed, and “all things are possible” for those who believe, what has gone wrong when all things don’t actually happen. For in truth, we have all looked to the LORD for some provision or circumstantial change, for deliverance from various challenges or success in some endeavor. And then… nothing. Our prayers have gone unanswered or the hope we had for some miraculous moment went unfulfilled. Is something wrong with us, we ask. Did we not believe enough. Often we are like the father who cried out for his son, and when Jesus spoke the words of our text today, he cries out in verse 24, “I believe; help my unbelief!”
 
Our unbelief does need some help, for it is unbelief that prevents us from experiencing the power of Christ through our lives. In the parallel passage found in Matthew 17:20, Jesus told His disciples, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” Many have metaphorically beat their heads against this text for they have seen no mountains move, and there seems to be an indelible number of things that remain impossible. Do you find yourself there as well? I have, and many other Christians have walked the road of personal doubts and discouragements because they thought they had great faith and yet their desired achievements did not come to pass.
 
But, beloved, believing for magnificent things or for the greatest possible outcomes is not having great faith. Great faith is belief in what Jesus has promised, and anchoring our lives to those promises. It must be faith that is placed rightly. As we consider our text for today, you need to hearken back to the moment when Jesus commanded the disciples to go out and do those things that He had been doing. In Mark 6:7 we read, “And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.” Now, follow up that text with this from Mark 9:17-18, “And someone from the crowd answered him, ‘Teacher, I brought my son to you, for he has a spirit that makes him mute. And whenever it seizes him, it throws him down, and he foams and grinds his teeth and becomes rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast it out, and they were not able.’” What happened? Why were they unable to do so when the very authority was given to them for that very purpose? Simple—they didn’t believe. Perhaps they thought they could do such a thing under their own authority, or perhaps they thought that they could only function in a lesser situation and it needed Jesus directly. But, for whatever reason, they failed to believe the LORD when He had already given them the authority.
 
And that is the point of faith—it does not look anywhere else but to the LORD and His word and moves us to obey His commands. Jesus does not give universal authority to us that we should do anything we want, but He has given us some promises and commands that we must believe. And in that belief, we must act in faithful obedience, trusting that what He said will come to pass will actually happen. In the book of Acts, the faith of the apostles was presented as they healed, and performed signs and wonders—because Jesus gave them the authority to do so. No apostles exist today so those necessary signs are no longer needed. But still the church has been given great commands to go into all the world with the gospel. To bring to light the truth of Christ and trust that He will do exactly what He has said. That when His word is preached, it will cut others to the heart (see Hebrews 4:12). That when we pray according to God’s will, He hears us and we have what we’ve asked (see 1 John 5:14-15). There are many, many others and there is no room for them in our reading today.
 
Let me place this before you as we get ready to close. If you want to overcome unbelief, even as the father cried out “help my unbelief” then you must come to the word and saturate yourself in His truth. If you want to know His will and walk by faith, you must know His word and obey it. Only then, will you, I, or any other Christian find the means to overcome unbelief.
 
In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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